On Friday, President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as the next Justice on the Supreme Court. Since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement, the president conducted a rigorous process to identify a replacement.
Judge Jackson was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her parents attended segregated primary schools, then attended historically black colleges and universities. Both started their careers as public school teachers and became leaders and administrators in the Miami-Dade Public School System. When Judge Jackson was in preschool, her father attended law school. In a 2017 lecture, Judge Jackson traced her love of the law back to sitting next to her father in their apartment as he tackled his law school homework—reading cases and preparing for Socratic questioning—while she undertook her preschool homework—coloring books.
Judge Jackson stood out as a high achiever throughout her childhood. She was a speech and debate star who was elected “mayor” of Palmetto Junior High and student body president of Miami Palmetto Senior High School. But like many Black women, Judge Jackson still faced naysayers. When Judge Jackson told her high school guidance counselor she wanted to attend Harvard, the guidance counselor warned that Judge Jackson should not set her “sights so high.”
That did not stop Judge Jackson. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, then attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Judge Jackson lives with her husband, Patrick, and their two daughters, in Washington, DC.
Governor Ned Lamont released the following statement regarding Friday’s announcement that President Joe Biden is nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court:
“In nominating Ketanji Brown Jackson to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, President Biden has selected an outstanding jurist to succeed Justice Steven Breyer. As a current federal appellate judge, and former vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, public defender, and Supreme Court clerk to Justice Breyer, Judge Jackson’s experience, perspective, and voice will be a valuable addition to the bench. I applaud President Biden’s choice and commend his commitment to ensuring that our nation’s highest court better reflects the nation itself.”
AG Ton issued the following statement:
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is an exceptional choice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Brown Jackson’s broad experiences across the legal profession and her service on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. District Court have distinguished her as one of our nation’s sharpest legal minds and most well respected judges.”
“If confirmed, Judge Brown Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court — a historic nomination that is long overdue. From safeguarding American’s right to vote to protecting a person’s right to reproductive freedom to preserving our clean air and climate, all roads lead to the Supreme Court and the stakes have never been higher. I am proud to support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and I urge the Senate to swiftly and fairly confirm her.”